Around the World
by KobayashiNariko
Summary: When Feli picks up his father's abandoned dream, he goes on to draw circle around the earth. Where each connected dot is a different type of music, he helps unify the world with only one performance group, all under the name: Hetalia. AU/various pairings
1. Prologue

**EDIT: Prologue has been changed from first to third person point of view.**

Author's Note: This is in an Alternate Universe [AU], some time into our future with human names used. Most of the pairings are already set^^ And as a warning, since this is a prologue, it doesn't explain much, but it does show the point in time where the story is set into motion.

Hopefully I'll be encouraged to continue this~^^ so without further ado~

**I humbly request constructive criticism~ I don't mind how harsh it can be...unless you just want to tell me that you hate what I'm writing. In that case, why are you reading it?**

**Warnings: light yaoi, un-beta-read, kindly consider this a first draft **

**Disclaimer: Hetalia does not belong to me.**

[note: Julian Vargas = Ancient Rome, I have changed the canon slightly from him being the Italy brother's grandfather, to father~ the same goes for Germania (who is Lukas Weillschmidt)~ please be assured that this is needed for the story]

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*~::||*||::~*Around the World*~::||*||::~*

*~::||*||::~*Prologue*~::||*||::~*  
*~::||*||::~*

"Now, Now…Calm down." Julian Vargas playfully struggled with one, giggling 8-year-old who didn't want to go to bed just yet. His brother, four years his elder, simply frowned at the hyper child; unlike his younger sibling, he was already snug under the bed sheets. After a few more moments of staring at his father and brother, he decided to put an end to the noise.

"_Feliciano. _Stop wriggling around already!" At the sound of his full name, Feliciano finally stopped moving and smiled with a simple charm that reminded Julian of his wife; may her soul rest in peace.

"There, all settled." Julian sat on the side of the bed after he managed to pull the covers over his youngest son. Unexpectedly, a short tune rung out from his phone, interrupting the small family's evening routine. The two brothers watched with a bit of discomfort as their father sighed and checked the text message, which was likely one from the company Julian headed.

"If that's important, then you can reply to it or go back to work or…whatever. I can tuck Feli in." Looking up at the elder son, Lovino, Julian smiled as he turned off the cell. Although Lovino had said that, his trademark pout told Julian to do the exact opposite. And so, the infernal device got set onto the side table, where it could not interrupt them again.

Evenings like this were especially precious to Julian; it was the only time he could peacefully sit down and talk to his only sons, away from the affairs of work that ate up all of his time during the day. They had made this a tradition the day after his wife passed away, because he never wanted his work to ever make Feliciano and Lovino feel as it their father was not around to raise them. This was their established "family time"; the only time when Julian could find out what misadventures these two managed to have day by day

This evening, Feliciano was the one to immediately answer Julian's usual question of, "So, what did you do today?"

"Mr. Lukas took me and Ludwig and Gilbert to the park." A bright smile split the young Italian's face as he went on to weave a tale of how Ludwig and his elder brother, Gilbert had fended off bullies so they could play peacefully in the sandbox and on the swings.  
Somewhere in the middle of Feliciano's account, Julian made a mental note to thank his long-time friend, Lukas Weillschmidt, _yet again_ for looking after Feliciano, since that day was yet another Saturday Julian had to fill with work. As Feliciano's talk for the evening came to a close, Julian looked over at Lovino, indicating that it was now his turn.

Lovino had opted to stay at home for the whole day. He had spent said day either reading, writing, eating or sleeping. The only reason Julian knew _this_ was because he had worked from home that day and anytime he had crawled out of that den known as his office he had found Lovino doing one of those four activities. If one thing was consistent, it would be that Lovino had carried around a few sheets of paper that he handled as if they were made of glass.

Looking away from his father and brother and instead at the ceiling, Lovino began. "My pen pal's letter finally came in today."  
As part of his Spanish class, they practiced writing letters to students learning English in Spain. In doing so they were paired up with various students and it just so happened that Lovino was paired up with a boy five years his senior. His name was Antonio, and from what Julian had heard, Antonio seemed a rather bright and cheerful boy.

"Oh really?" Well, that explained why he was writing the whole day and reading from the same few papers. He seemed to agonize over every word that he wrote, crossing out incorrect spellings, checking and rechecking his grammar; in the end he tended to write the reply letter several times before sending it away to Spain in perfect Spanish. "You were rather focused on the letter all of today. What are you two talking about?"  
In response, the lightest of blushes touched Lovino's cheeks and the elder Italian had to stop himself from laughing. His eldest son's silence had made Julian all the more curious to know what it was that Lovino's pen pal wrote. After trying to get Lovino to tell him multiple times, Julian used his absolute last resort.

"Fine then. If you don't tell me, I'll just find where you hide all of those letters from Antonio and read them myself." Julian's Spanish was a bit rusty, but from what he understood, Antonio was supposed to be practicing English, so his letters wouldn't be that hard to read. That and the father already knew where Lovino hid them: right under the loose floorboard by the bed the two brothers had long since insisted they share because their home was so big. Lovino had the suspicion that his father already knew of the floorboard, so he relented.

"Lately we've been talking about the dreams that we have for the future…and he went and wrote that one of his dreams was to marry a person that reminds him of a tomato." Lovino's voice dwindled near the end and it took but a single moment more for the stopper on Julian's laughter to finally come off.  
He laughed until his sides hurt, but only because Lovino seemed to get redder as he went on and even as Feliciano started to giggle. Forcing himself to stop, Julian took a deep breath and wiped his eyes.

"I'm sorry Lovi, but if you ever get the chance to meet Antonio face to face, he may want to marry _you_." Julian was joking of course, but Lovino, being the serious child that he was, immediately protested.

"He can't do _that_. We're both boys." He said with the underlying tone of the hushed social taboo. All Julian could do in response was smile sadly, but he supposed that he could talk to the boys about respecting sexual orientation at a time when they were more awake and receptive.  
Before Julian could respond though, Feliciano tugged on his sleeve, silently asking for his turn to speak.

"Did you have a dream like that when you married mama?" Suddenly, Julian found two pairs of large, inquiring eyes waiting for his answer.

"I suppose," Julian said evasively, "but since we're talking about dreams, do you have one Feli?"

Feliciano nodded enthusiastically. "I want to sing with a big group of people in front of a really big audience. And everyone from the group would be from different places around the world and we'll sing songs in all kinds of languages."  
Taken aback by his wishful thinking, Julian asked him why he would have such a dream only for the answer to be "because it would be lots of fun!"

Julian sighed wistfully; the saying "like father, like son" had just gained another example.

"You look surprised papa." Lovino spoke up. "Did you have a dream like that too?"

"Yes. A long time ago I had a dream almost exactly like that."

Feliciano wiggled into a more comfortable position under the sheets. "Oh, this is going to be good, I can tell."

"Many years ago, when I was but eighteen, I was part of a fairly popular band here in London." Julian started.

"Called Hetalia, right?" Feliciano came in.

"Right. We were a four-person band called Hetalia, and at that time I thought we were invincible. I wanted us to eventually get enough people from different parts of the world all into one group, so we could have just enough of each of their cultures. We would be a group that essentially represented all the music in the world." Julian paused in his narrative to face two slightly confused expressions; it was time to simplify his idea slightly.

"It's like drawing a circle around the Earth. Each type of music is a dot, and when you connect all the dots you'll eventually go around the world and make a big circle that unifies all the music together." He paused long enough for the small light of understanding to enter his sons' eyes before continuing.

"But…I never got to fulfill that dream."

"Why not?" The boys asked in unison.

"Well even though we got a recording contract with an independent company, meaning we had this little company that helped us find places to perform…eventually a bigger company, called Union, bought the little company. For some reason Union just didn't like us and they terminated the contract, meaning they weren't going to help us anymore. So I started to work for the family business, and that's where we are now."

The looks of visible disappointment on his sons' faces were definitely not what Julian wanted to end the day with. He was touched that they had become sad because he wasn't able to reach that dream, but he considered it his job to end their day on a happier note.

"However, I have a new dream now. Want to know what it is?" Julian smiled broadly as they nodded.

"My dream right now is for both of you to grow up to be happy and successful in life. I'm getting old, so you two have to carry my dreams for me."

In that moment, as he tucked both of his sons in and gave them their customary good-night kiss upon their foreheads (despite Lovino's protests that he wasn't a kid any more), Julian could not have predicted how much this little snippet of his life had affected his two children…or how they would take that wishful dream and make it their own.

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Author's Note: The next chapter is when the story truly starts. We'll fast forward 10 years and begin with Feliciano Vargas on his way to the first day of classes for collage where he runs into an old friend and Julian gets to talk to an even older friend.


	2. I: Sounds Like a Date

Author's Note: At first I considered making really long chapters, but I've decided to try something different this time around and made each arc into smaller (and easier to revise and edit) chunks. So more chapters will be out more frequently, and they can be read in one comfortable sitting…hopefully^^

**I humbly request constructive criticism~ I don't mind how harsh it can be...unless you just want to tell me that you hate what I'm writing. In that case, why are you reading it?**

**Warnings: light yaoi, un-beta-read, kindly consider this a first draft **

**Disclaimer: Hetalia does not belong to me.**

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***~::||*||::~*Around the World*~::||*||::~***

***~::||*||::~*Part I: Italia and Germania*****~::||*||::~***

*******~::||*||::~***Chapter I: Sounds Like a Date*~::||*||::~*  
***~::||*||::~***

"Feli, If you don't wake up now, you'll never get there on time! I heard that they'll kick you out if you're late for the first day of class!"  
Julian laughed to himself from the foot of the stairs when he finally heard a groggy "I'll be right there…" followed by a thump as Feliciano stumbled out of his bed.  
Apparently he was too excited about finally going to college that he didn't get much sleep the previous night. Luckily for Julian, there was a perfect plan to ensure that his son would not be late for the first day. The previous evening, right after he was sure that Feliciano had fallen asleep, Julian went to every clock in the house and set each one exactly one hour ahead.

Julian didn't remember having this much fun messing around with his sons since the day Lovino left England to attend an internationally lauded Arts University in Spain four years ago. It was well worth it to see his eldest son panicking to pack everything before his flight since Julian had set all the clocks ahead two hours with Feliciano's help.  
Underneath that prank, Julian hid his worry that Lovino wouldn't be able to adjust to a life so far from home, but as luck would have it, Lovino's long-time pen pal was the very person who would provide him housing. Antonio was an alumnus of the university Lovino attended, so he was a helping factor when Lovino applied for scholarships for the university.  
From the emails and handwritten letters that Lovino sent back home, Antonio was apparently a big help in adjusting to life in Spain. The best times were the holidays, when Julian sent over enough money for both Lovino and Antonio to come visit him and Feliciano. From the few times Julian had the pleasure to meet Antonio, he had considered him an acceptable fellow and continued to allow him to look after Lovino.

"Good Morning!" Despite the rough awakening, a bright greeting came from Feliciano as he bounded down the stairs and into the dining room, clad in comfortable slacks, a casual button-up shirt, and a light jacket to keep him warm in the cooling air around London. He had chosen a college closer to home so he didn't have to travel far, but it was no less prestigious than the university Lovino attended in Spain. Like his brother, Feliciano had also chosen to study Music Performance, and later-for his post-graduate-he planned to study Music Management and Merchandising. This way they would be set to help the family business, which dealt with the sales of everything from instruments to stereo equipment for bands.

Father and son sat at the table to eat breakfast as they usually did; only this time, one constantly looked up at the wall clock and his own watch as he ate, while the other took his time and had an ill-contained smile in response to his son's haste. Feliciano finished his plate in record time before quickly rinsing it in the sink, going back to give his father a good-bye hug, and grabbing his new shoulderbag to run out the front door.  
Julian wished him good luck for his first day just before closing the door and laughing lightly at the image of Feliciano rushing out in order to catch the next bus to the university. Turning back towards the dining room, he fiddled with his watch and set it back to the correct time. Well, it was time to turn all the clocks back so he could later deny ever pulling the prank because Feliciano was sure to figure it out when he reached the campus.

***~::||*||::~***

It was all Feliciano could do to _not_ fall asleep on the half-hour ride to the University. He instead busied himself by looking down at this campus map and then at his weekly schedule for the Autumn term's classes. Lightly tracing the path to his first class with the tip of his index finger, Feliciano gradually smiled.

_Look at me Lovi, I'm finally going to college too, _he thought fondly as he folded up the papers and tucked them into his bag.  
Pulling out his wallet form his back pocket, he flipped open the black leather to pull out a small and slightly creased photo of four young boys; two of them were only 8 years old, while the others were 12 and 15. One of the younger boys, the one with large amber eyes, had held the hand of the other blond and blue-eyed 8-year-old.  
Gazing down at the fair-haired child with slightly glassy eyes, Feliciano wondered if _he_ was also heading to college now since he hadn't seen the boy for many years.

The bus finally came to the stop nearest to the university, so Feliciano had to gently tuck the picture into his wallet once more in order to get off the bus. Just as he stepped onto the pavement, all thoughts of that blue-eyed child fled as he looked alarmingly down at his wrist watch. According to the little device, class would start in the next 10 minutes.  
Fumbling to take out his campus map, Feliciano started to walk forward through the front gates as fast as he could without breaking into a sprint.

"Ve~! Got it!" He managed to pull out the campus map from his bag, only to then run straight into the back of a taller male. Despite the fact that the man was standing still when Feliciano ran into him, Feliciano got knocked back onto the ground. Startled, the young man turned slightly to look down at Feliciano with an ever-severe expression.

"Ahh! I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'll do anything, so don't hurt me!" Feliciano begged as he scrambled to sit up and clutch his map for dear life.

"I'm not going to hurt you, but you should watch where you're going." He turned around fully to offer his hand. Yet, Feliciano didn't even see the gesture; he was much too focused on the bright blue of the taller male's eyes.

It couldn't be…  
Feliciano's mind spun with so many thoughts, memories, and questions that only a single word managed to escape his lips.

"Ludwig?"

Then, almost as if he hadn't called out the man's name, he snapped back to his senses and took Ludwig's hand to get up. As soon as he was back onto his feet, Ludwig pulled his hand away, looking disconcerted.

"…How do you know my name?" Ludwig looked down at the now-stuttering Italian.

"Oh…I, uh, I saw it written on your bag. See, here." He quickly pointed to a corner of Ludwig's shoulder bag, where his name was printed neatly.

"Hm, I see. Well then, let me ask, Who—" Without his permission Feliciano's hands came up to cover Ludwig's lips with his fingers, stopping Ludwig's oncoming question. An instant later, his amber eyes widened as he quickly pulled down his hands and stepped away, hiding them behind his back.

Now bright red, and thoroughly embarrassed, Feliciano looked away. "I'm sorry. I-I just don't like being asked that question…I'm Feliciano though. Felicano Vargas!"  
His heart pounded uncomfortably at the sudden awkwardness of the situation, but he didn't know how he would have reacted if he had let Ludwig ask, "Who are you?"

In hopes to alleviate the tension in the air Ludwig decided to ignore the shorter male's random invasion of his personal space. "I'm Ludwig Weillschmidt."

Looking for an excuse to not look up at Ludwig, Feliciano checked his watch. "Ah! Class is about to start! Sorry but I've got to go!"

"Hold on a second. It's still half an hour till the building opens and classes don't start until an hour from now."

"What are you talking about? Look, this is the time right now." He showed Ludwig his watch and became confused when the German raised an eyebrow at the time.

"That's odd, your watch is an hour ahead."

"Ehh? No way." Feliciano checked it again, let his mind process this new information. "Ah! This is papa's doing."

"What?"

"Papa. He went and set all the clocks ahead by an hour so I wouldn't be late." Feliciano pouted at this; although he was glad that he wouldn't be late to class, he couldn't help but think that he would have been able to sleep in for another hour.

To his surprise, Ludwig chuckled a bit. "That's not a bad idea though."

Hearing Ludwig's laugh had flipped a switch in Feliciano's mind. As difficult as it would be to try to restart his friendship with Ludwig, he had to try didn't he? Now wanting a reason to continue talking to Ludwig, Feliciano asked, "What class do you have first?"

"Music Theory."

"Really? Me too!" Feliciano pulled out his schedule and showed Ludwig.

"So you're going to major in Music?"

Feliciano nodded enthusiastically.

They, or more so_ Feliciano_, talked until the building doors opened and they were allowed in. Since Ludwig was better at reading the map, he led the way to their first class, and ended up in a large classroom. Insisting that he didn't know anyone else, Feliciano sat right by Ludwig in the front row.  
Their conversation had somehow moved onto the topic of pasta and as Feliciano chattered away about the "work of art" that pasta was, Ludwig finally had enough of the endless talking.

"Feliciano, could you please…keep quiet for a bit?" Ludwig asked in the most polite manner he could muster.

Out of fear that Ludwig would move to a different seat, Feliciano shut his mouth and instead pulled out a notebook for class as well as his own small sketchpad. Flipping the book open he came to a new page and busied himself with a new drawing. Of course the first thing that came to mind was the young man reading a small music theory book next to him. Feliciano started by drawing the German's eyes and moved on from there. By the time class was about to start, he had gathered quite a group of female students that were cooing over his drawing.  
Ludwig, enraptured by the book in his hands, didn't notice the crowd until a few minutes before the start of class. While Feliciano talked to a few of the girls, he took a look at the sketchpad.

"Is that me?" He asked, getting Feliciano's attention. Feliciano snapped his head towards Ludwig to find the other man's face rather close to his own, but Ludwig was staring down at the sketchpad so he missed the flush of Feliciano's face.

"Ah, yeah, sorry but I just drew the first thing that came to mind."

"No need to apologize. It looks good, thank you."

Feliciano didn't get a chance to respond, because in that moment, the professor finally entered the classroom and called for their attention. As class began, Ludwig noticed that Feliciano set aside his sketchpad and remained utterly attentive to the professor the entire time. It was interesting to see a more serious side to his new friend. Even though Feliciano seemed oblivious at first, Ludwig supposed that even Feliciano could focus if he tired.

***~::||*||::~***

For the rest of the day, Feliciano had literally stuck to Ludwig. He even kept Ludwig company when they had lunch and in the end he gave the tall German the warmest good-bye that he possibly could.  
It took the last of Feliciano's self-control to leave Ludwig with that good-bye. As soon as Ludwig was out of sight, he made a mad dash to the bus stop, just in time to catch the next bus as it was about to leave. The rumbling of the sky mixed with the sound of the engine as the bus left the stop.  
Slumping down on the first available seat by the window, Feliciano lightly put the side of his forehead against the cool glass as the first drops of rain hit the road. He spent the entire half hour of the ride barely moving, barely making a sound, and only looking forlornly up at the suddenly grey sky.

As the bus came to his stop, Feliciano dragged himself to the front to get off. He sat on a bench under the shade of the bus stop, still trying to comprehend that his oldest friend, whom he hadn't seen in eight years, had suddenly come back. Time passed quickly as he tried to get out of his daze but with no avail; the pouring rain that he normally enjoyed listening to now interrupted every thought and he found himself stuck in the same mental loop. Minutes ticked by, then hours, until it was finally time for his father to come home from work.

Lucky for Feliciano, Julian had seen his son sitting at the bus stop while he was driving and had picked him up. He didn't ask any questions in the car because he knew better than to do that. Glancing at his son on the way back home, Julian noted that Feliciano didn't seem to be hurt physically, but there was a scarily empty look in his eyes; he had only seen that look once before.  
When they were back in the comfort and warmth of their home, Julian led the solemn-looking boy to the living room, where he sat next to him on the couch.

"Feli…Look at me."

When Feliciano continued to stare down at the sofa's cushions, Julian gently cupped the youth's chin and slowly brought it up and waited for Feliciano's eyes to follow suit.

"What happened?" he asked softly, removing his hand. There was a long pause as Feliciano's bit his lip and took a deep breath.

"He came back."

"Who did?"

Feliciano hesitated, now looking at his father straight in the eye. His throat suddenly felt uncomfortably clogged but he gulped and his voice gave the answer in a surprisingly even tone.

"Ludwig."

As strange as it felt to laugh when the first of his tears fell, Feliciano couldn't stop either action. He muffled his mouth with the back of his hand as he tried to explain. "I was…s-so happy, when I saw him. I just didn't know what to say…but then he just looked at me as if he had never seen me before…and it hurt. It hurt so much when he looked straight at me and almost asked who I was…"  
In all honesty, Julian could only make out a few words from Feliciano's explanation; they just so happened to be "saw him," "hurt" and "hurt so much".

At this point Julian, who hadn't seen Feliciano cry like this for nearly 8 years, could not bear seeing his son's pain any longer. He sat closer to Feliciano and allowed his son to cling to the front of his shirt, letting out all of the mixed feelings. He leaned his cheek against the side of the crying youth's hair, and kept his arms securely around the shaking frame of his Feliciano's body. Pressing his eyes closed, Julian didn't say a word; there were no words that could ever hope to comfort Feliciano when he was in this state. The only things that did work were hugs, which were a silent offering of security often given by Julian's arms.

When Feliciano finally quietened, Julian pulled back to see his son fast asleep. It seemed that he had tired himself out, mentally and emotionally, enough for his brain to simply shut down for the time being. Fixing the boy's bangs and wiping away residual tears, Julian slipped his arms around Feliciano's shoulders and under his knees. Thankful for his personal commitment to exercise regularly, the father gently carried Feliciano up the stairs and laid him down in his bed.

Even in his sleep, Feliciano sniffed every so often and his brow remained furrowed ever so slightly. It pained Julian to see him in such a state, but this was not something he could fix and that frustrated him to no end.  
With nothing more he could do, he left the room, closing the door gently behind him. Just as he got to the stairs, the phone began to ring. Quickly descending the stairs, Julian picked up the first wireless handset he came across and clicked the little green call button.

"Is this Julian Vargas?" A deep, somewhat monotonous voice caused something to click in Julian's brain.

"Lukas?" He pressed the earpiece closer to his ear, hardly believing that voice was actually coming through the phone.

"Oh good, it is you."

Julian laughed through the mouthpiece, "Of course, who else would it be? How are you?"

"Decent. I wanted to contact you, because I've moved back to London."

"Mm, I kind of figured that out."

"How?"

"Feli met Ludwig over at the University today."

"Is that so?" Julian smiled as he realized that he could hear the subtle change in Lukas's voice from detachment to a bit of surprise, even concern.

"This was a fated coincidence perhaps? I told you we couldn't keep these kids apart for too long."

"True." Grimacing slightly, Julian remembered how Lukas always was a man of very concise words.

"Ah, how is Elisa?" A pause was then heard on Lukas's end; it didn't last _that_ long, but Julian had a split second to wonder if he had said something wrong.

"She passed away and we had her funeral in Germany. I couldn't stand staying there anymore, so we came back." His voice had suddenly turned bitterly cold, as if he was trying to distance himself from the words he spoke to Julian.

"…Lukas…I'm sorry—I—" Julian stuttered into the phone, now gripping it tighter in his hand. He had taken a step back to lean against the wall, so he just slid down till he was sitting on the ground. The news of his best friend's wife's death had brought about a rush of emotions. Whenever he had met her, Julian remembered that she was consistently a bright and cheerful woman, who, with Lukas, had helped him through the death of his own wife.  
Closing his eyes he took a deep breath that was easily heard by Lukas even though Julian had lightly covered his mouth with his other hand.

"Julian. Don't be sorry. Her sickness was terminal…and…she would not have wanted us to mourn for too long." Lukas's voice seemed all the more distant, if only a touch softer and reminiscent. From his tone alone, Julian could tell that his old friend was practically begging him to change the subject…or at least lighten the mood.

"Looks like we're both widows now, huh?" The Italian smiled ever so slightly as he heard a small puff of breath through the earpiece; somehow he had managed to break the tension between them.

"Looks like it." A pause.

"Hey, Lukas?"

"Hm?"

"Would you like to come over for dinner?"

"It sounds like you're asking me on a date. We're not in high school anymore."

Julian laughed at the mock disapproval in Lukas's voice. "Of course it's a date, can't you tell? You can bring over Ludwig and I'll make sure Feli's there too. We can have a double date."

Another puff of breath; this time Julian had managed to get a small laugh out of the stoic German. "Alright then."

"How about tomorrow—at 7:00?"

"Sounds like a date."

"Careful Lukas, you're starting to sound like me." Julian now smiled broadly before reconfirming his address to Lukas and hanging up.

***~::||*||::~***

Author's note: Well, it's a start. ^_^

**In the next chapter Lukas feels guilty, Feliciano feels the pasta is missing something, and Julian pulls out an old photo.**


	3. II: Plans to Restart

A/N: I have a special surprise in the note at the end of this Chapter~ =w=

**I humbly request constructive criticism~ I don't mind how harsh it can be...unless you just want to tell me that you hate what I'm writing. In that case, why are you reading it?**

**Warnings: Light Yaoi, Un-Beta-Read =A=;;; Kindly consider this a first draft **

**Disclaimer: Hetalia does not belong to me; this fanfiction however, does. :3**

**

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***~::||*||::~*Around the World*~::||*||::~***

**Part I: Italia and Germania**

**Chapter II: Plans to Restart **  
***~::||*||::~***

Only just after the call ended, Lukas realized Julian had not asked, even once, why he had not contacted the Italian for eight years. When he had first picked up the phone and called Julian on a whim, the stoic German had expected to be shot with numerous rapid-fire questions. Yet, a more subdued and calmer form of his old friend greeted him instead.  
Of course, almost immediately, Julian had taken control of the conversation and before Lukas knew it, the call had ended, leaving him with an engagement for dinner.

_How does he make it sound like we spoke every day? _Lukas set the phone back on it's charger and just stood there, looking down at it as if Julian's casual speaking was the phone's fault. All but a moment later, he sighed and decided to just go along with it as he always did. Besides, tomorrow's dinner would give him the perfect chance to apologise.

"_Vater."_ Ludwig's voice from the kitchen pulled Lukas out of his thoughts. "I'm starting to cook now." Looking at the wall clock, he saw that it was indeed time to prepare dinner. Ludwig had already put on his cooking apron when Lukas entered and followed suit. On a normal day, they cooked in virtual silence, which both father and son found comfortable. This time around however, Lukas felt he would warm up with a simple conversation before telling Ludwig about the dinner invite.

"How did your first day go?" Lukas thought this was a perfectly simple question, likely asked by dozens of parents all across London, but that did not stop Ludwig from staring at his father in surprise, probably thinking he was in trouble. Unfortunately, Lukas's ever severe expression hardly helped.

"It…was alright, I suppose." Ludwig looked away to start taking the vegetables out of the fridge for the soup they were making that night.

"You suppose?" Lukas brought out a large pot and set it in the sink to fill with water.

"Well yes. Today was…interesting to say that least. I made a friend, or at least I think I did."

"Really?...What's his name?"

"Feliciano Vargas." Ludwig stopped what he was doing to look at his father, just in time to see him stiffen. As much as he wanted to ask how his father knew that he was talking about a boy, he decided not to call attention to Lukas's strange behaviour and continued instead, "He was a bit odd at first but, as strange as it sounds, he feels rather familiar."  
Ludwig shook his head slightly and smiled a bit as he went back to cutting the begetables, now talking more to himself than Lukas. "It almost felt like I met him before…but that can't be it."

Lukas listened quietly as a small stab of guild pierced his stomach. To hear Ludwig talk like this was almost too much, but it wasn't time to tell him the truth yet…not until the right person returned to reveal everything.  
"I see. Well, today…actually just a moment ago, I got off the phone with…an old friend." Lukas paused, "Have I ever mentioned Julian before?"

Ludwig thought pensively for a moment. Ever since he learned that he had lost all memories of his life before the age 10, he had consistently strove to remember every moment after that to the point of obsession. He hated to forget anything, so he was sure to remember if Lukas mentioned Julian…even in passing.

"No. I don't think you have." Ludwig finally answered.

Another stab of guilt came, now closer to his heart. He hadn't mentioned Julian _once_? Even to his own son?  
Lukas turned off the water and held the handles of the pot tighter than needed. Clearing his throat, he replied, "In any case, he has invited us over for dinner. It will be tomorrow at 7:00 if you're interested."

"I am. It would be nice to meet your friend. While we're on the topic, when did you meet him?"

Lukas stared down into the water, reaching back into his memories for the first time he had met the Italian. "I met him when I first started attending primary school here in London many years ago…"

***~/::/|*|\::\~***

Feliciano's eyes snapped wide open and in a moment of panic he sat up with a start. His fingers curled around the soft fabric of his blanket as he looked around his dimly lit room.  
Wait…how did he get to his room? The last thing he remembered was crying and after that…papa must have carried him up to his bed.

Flushing slightly at the memory, he turned his head towards the side table and turned on the small lamp. Immediately the light led him to see a full glass of water that had a small note partially tucked underneath it. Moving the glass aside, Feliciano read:

_This is to replenish all those tears. If you get up before I wake you, come down for dinner.  
Love, Papa_

A little smiley face was drawn right by Julian's signature.

Pushing aside the blanket, Feliciano move to let his feet touch the ground and sit up on the side of the bed. He took the glass up with both of his hands and lightly touched the rim to his lips. Without lowering the glass once, he drained every last drop. As the liquid hit his empty stomach, he frowned slightly at the discomfort and set the glass back by his alarm clock, which read 8:00 PM. Startled, Feliciano jumped up and strode across his room; it was very much past dinnertime.

Down the stairs and into the kitchen Feliciano went and found his father just walking out of the kitchen and into the adjacent dining room. Changing course, he went into that same room in time to see Julian look up.

"Oh, Feli? I was just coming to wake you up. It took a while but I finished making whatever pasta we had left." Julian said cheerfully as he walked up to Feliciano. A look of concern developed on his face when Feliciano didn't answer and simply glanced at the pasta. "Are you…alright? Do you want something else to eat?"

Looking at the pasta, Feliciano, rather than feeling overjoyed as usual, felt there was something missing.

"I'm okay…I guess." He looked up at his father and suddenly asked, "Do we have any wurst?"

"Eh…um..No, I don't think so." Julian watched uneasily as Feliciano's face fell. "Will you be alright going to class tomorrow? You can stay home if you want…"

"No. I'll definitely go tomorrow. It's no use running away from the problem. I'm going to do my best to start over with Ludwig." A new hardened light suddenly entered Feliciano's eyes; his mind had finally come to a solid decision; he would face this obstacle head on—something he had rarely done throughout his young life.

Julian smiled slightly. " 'No use running away from the problem,' huh?" He ruffled Feliciano's hair fondly. "When I was your age, I did nothing _but_ run from my problems…yet, for once, I'm glad that you're not following my example."

***~/::/|*|\::\~***

Despite Feliciano's being 18 years old, Julian still kept the tradition of bidding him goodnight right by his bedside.  
Assured that the pasta had done its job of cheering up his son, Julian began to tell him about the dinner he had planned for tomorrow.

"Eh? L-Ludwig and Mr. Lukas are coming over for dinner?" Feliciano had sat up when Julian told him this and much to his father's amusement, he had also turned quite a warm shade of red.

"Yep. It's been quite a while since I've seen Lukas…and there are a couple of things that I want to clear up between him and me. I figured inviting Ludwig as well would give you a chance to restart your friendship."

Just before leaving the room Julian had added, "Oh, and try to keep the dinner a secret from Ludwig."

"Why?"

"I want to surprise him and if I know Lukas as well as I think I do, then he has probably not mentioned that his old friend Julian has a son." The elder Italian winked before closing the door behind him and leaving Feliciano to slip into his dreams.

Heading down the hall, Julian made his way to the master bedroom. Before going to bed though, he pulled out a photo album from his side table's drawer. He flipped through the album, going back through some of the happiest as well as the most trying times of his life. When he came to the final page of the album, he gently reached in and pulled out a photo that was hidden behind another one.

The small picture showed him and Lukas when the two of them were both only 20 years old. For once Lukas smiled in the picture as he slung one arm around Julian's shoulders and Julian had done the same with Lukas's. They had both tilted their heads towards each other such that the sides of their foreheads were touching as they faced the camera.  
A sad smile spread across Julian's face as he set the album to the side and focused on the faded photograph. A few months after that photo was taken, a series of events took place that ultimately tore the two of them apart, but tomorrow, Feliciano was not going to be the only one starting over with a dear friend. Surely tomorrow, every obstacle that caused the rift between them would be overcome and the past would be forgiven. Julian had lost Lukas twice already; he would not let him get away for the third time.

***~/::/|*|\::\~***

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**A/N: This chapter is shorter than usual, however the next one will answer some rather important questions~ =u=**

On a side note, for that special surprise, if you are able to guess who the "youthful teacher" below is in a review then I will draw one fully coloured [digitally] picture of any scene of that lucky winner's choice from the chapters of this fanfiction so far.

**In the next chapter, Ludwig meets a deceptively youthful teacher, Feliciano welcomes two old friends to the Vargas household, and Lukas reveals some truths to Julian.**


	4. III: Surprises One After Another

Author's Note: After an incredible delay, Here is the next chapter~ enjoy OuO

I humbly request constructive criticism~ I don't mind how harsh it can be...unless you just want to tell me that you hate what I'm writing. In that case, why are you reading it?

The winner of the last chapter's question was pandacat6133 OTL I haven't finished her request picture yet, though when I do, I'll put a note here saying that it's in my DA gallery.

Many thanks to **candy4yourEYEZ **for beta-reading this Chapter~33

Warnings: Light Yaoi,

Disclaimer: Hetalia does not belong to me; this fanfiction however, does. :3

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*~::||*||::~*Around the World*~::||*||::~*

Part I: Italia and Germania

Chapter III: Surprises One After Another  
*~::||*||::~*

_I wonder if this will become a habit_, Julian mused with a soft smile as he ate his breakfast, watching Feliciano do the same. Shocking as it was, Feliciano had woken up early today; not as early as yesterday, of course, but early for _him_ anyway. Like the day before, Feliciano had been looking at his watch all morning, though not with the same urgency. It was particularly amusing for Julian.

"Take your time, Feli. You're not going to be late."

Feliciano looked up at his father, his expression that of a child who had been caught taking a cookie from the jar. "Eh, I just want to be early... since it's college and all."

"Hmm," Julian grinned knowingly. "I wonder if you just _really_ want to find a certain someone, and that's why you're leaving early." Feliciano's light flush worsened.

He pouted as he stood up, the housekeeper taking his plate with a small smile. "I am not!" Despite his father's teasing, Feliciano still beamed at his father before leaving to catch the bus.

"You ought to finish up so you can get to the office on time, Julian." The elderly maid mentioned lightly as she ambled over to the kitchen to rinse Feliciano's plate.

Glancing at his watch, Julian hurriedly finished off his own food and stood. "Oh, Gaea? Thank you for the meal, once again." Julian picked up his plate to give to Gaea, who had come back from the kitchen. The woman had been working at the manor ever since Julian was a child, and for all the time he had known her she had been strong and incredibly supportive of him.

Idly, he followed her into the kitchen, wondering if he should ask what he had been pondering since yesterday evening. Gaea turned to look at him, a motherly smile on her face. "Something on your mind?"

Flushing slightly Julian nodded. "I was just wondering... how should I behave when Lukas comes for dinner tonight? It's been so long and all that I don't know how to be..."

Gaea's expression softened, she had seen and heard much that concerned Julian and Lukas over the years, and she had been particularly happy that Lukas had returned to London. "You should act like you normally do and welcome him back with open arms. It's probably what he needs."

Julian nodded. "Yes, I suppose you're right— you always are, always have been." He grinned and pecked her cheek before going to grab his briefcase. Time to head to the office.

***~::||*||::~***

The next morning, Ludwig slowly made his way to the first class of the day. It had not surprised him that the seemingly ever-energetic Feliciano greeted him jovially that morning, but the what actually had surprised him was how _normal_ he felt as he interacted with the Italian—almost as if they had known each other for much longer than a day.

Unfortunately, they had different initial classes that day. After making a promise to meet up for lunch they parted ways, and all the while Ludwig found himself pondering the familiarity of Feliciano. He found it quite disconcerting that his thoughts were so fixated on a certain person, but no matter what he did, his mind constantly crawled back to the oddity that was Feliciano. Ludwig sighed in defeat as he gave up trying to focus his brain on a different topic, and opened the door to the classroom. This room was slightly smaller than the rooms from the day before. Given that there were still a good fifteen minutes before the start of class, it was unsurprising that only one other student was sitting in the class.

The young man sat in the front row and in the farthest corner from the door where Ludwig stood. As he came in he noticed that the boy was an East Asian, though Ludwig could not tell if he was Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or something else altogether. The young man was listening to his iPod and reading a small book that had a removable white cover on it; the only thing written on the cover were three numbers: 801. Ludwig didn't know what that meant, but it must have been interesting: the boy was engrossed in the book and only noticed Ludwig when he came within five feet of the front row.

"Hm? Oh, _Sumimasen... _ah, I mean, pardon me. I did not notice you come in." He pulled out his earphones and stood to greet Ludwig. His short stature only further emphasized how young he appeared; Ludwig would have guessed that this guy was only about his age.  
As if by habit, he smiled slightly before bowing to Ludwig, who bowed back a bit awkwardly as to not seem rude. After seeing Ludwig's confused expression, the shorter man became flustered and reddened slightly. "Ah… _gome—_Sorry! Um… Force of habit…" He hesitantly held out his hand for Ludwig to shake. When Ludwig took it he said, "Please allow me to properly introduce myself. I am Kiku Honda."

"Ludwig Weilschmidt." After letting go of his hand, Kiku gestured to the seat next to him and Ludwig took it with a small, polite smile.

Now situated, a comfortable silence fell between the two of them as Kiku returned to his book and Ludwig pulled out his own Instrumental Literature text. He busied himself by re-reading the chapter everyone was assigned to read for the class before arriving. Eventually, people started to wander into the class and fill up the seats. Ludwig checked his watch when it was a few minutes before class was scheduled to start and wondered where the professor was; he had heard that their teacher for that day would actually be a student who was currently completing his Master's degree at this college and working as the teacher's aide.**  
**A few moments passed as the students anxiously waited for the teacher to arrive when Kiku flipped to the final page of his novel. A satisfied smile at his lips, he paused the music on his iPod and closed the book. In a fluid motion he stood up and carried the two items to the podium at the front. Ludwig's confused expression was shared by the entire class as Kiku rummaged around the lower shelf of the podium before standing back up to turn on the projector affixed to the ceiling.  
Ludwig would have gone up to ask what Kiku thought he was doing, but the calmly confident expression on the Japanese man's face made Ludwig believe that Kiku knew _exactly_ what he was doing.  
Whispers went around the room as everyone started to wonder aloud about what Kiku was setting up where the teacher was supposed to be. But after a moment or so of preparation, Kiku was standing up behind the podium and smiling at the class; the projector had begun to show an introductory slide from Powerpoint.

"Welcome to Instrumental Music Literature I," He began, "I am Kiku Honda, a teacher's aid here. I hope we can work together nicely this semester."

After a moment of stunned silence, someone finally asked if he really was the teacher of the class or if he was pulling some sort of prank. Kiku flushed, fumbled, and he tried to tell them that he really was the teacher, despite his appearance. While Kiku weakly attempted to prove himself, Ludwig glanced at his course schedule and pointed out that this class was indeed meant to be taught by a Honda, Kiku.

With a sigh of relief and a slightly embarrassed blush, Kiku smiled at Ludwig in silent thanks; Ludwig returned a similar smile and nodded curtly, indicating that it would be fine if Kiku started class.

***~/::/|*|\::\~***

Despite the initial surprise of having such a fairly young teacher—even though Kiku was, in fact, eight years Ludwig's elder, as the German later found out—the class recognized Kiku as being competent enough to admit that he knew what he was teaching rather well. Interestingly enough, Ludwig enjoyed that first lesson, yet for some reason or another his mind went back to that curious book that Kiku was reading earlier. Because of that, Ludwig packed up his things slowly after the end of class and lingered until everyone else was gone before going up to Kiku.

"The lesson was enjoyable, Mr. Honda."

Kiku, who had pulled out his iPod and novel again, smiled in relief. "Thank you. In all honesty, I was rather nervous that everyone would not take me seriously when I started…"

Ludwig took this chance to eye the book and ask, "Um, is… Is that a good novel?"

"Eh? Oh this?" Kiku blushed slightly as he held it up, then nodded shyly. "Yes. It's a rather intriguing story."

"Hm, really? What is it about?"

The Japanese man blinked and hesitated, wondering if it really was a good idea for him to tell the younger about the novel, but luckily for him, someone had knocked on the door and entered the classroom. Immediately a cheerful (and, to Ludwig, familiar) voice filled the air.

"Ve! I finally found your classroom, Ludwig!" Practically skipping across the room, Feliciano made his way to the front. "I was wondering if you were ready to head off for lunch, even though it's a bit early."

"Ah, yes…" Ludwig turned to look at Feliciano, who was now looking curiously at Kiku.

Kiku blinked, wondering whether he should keep quiet or introduce himself. Being Kiku, he chose the former and simply looked at Feliciano to Ludwig and back. Catching onto the shorter man's expression, Ludwig gestured to Feliciano.

"Mr. Honda, this is Feliciano Vargas." Ludwig then gestured to Kiku. "Feliciano, this is the Instrumental Lit.'s teacher's aid for the semester, Kiku Honda."

"Pleased to meet you, ve!" Feliciano stepped forward to take Kiku's hand with both of his own and shook it vigorously.

Startled by the sudden display of excitement, Kiku stuttered out his response. "It's... very nice to meet you as well…"

After a moment Feliciano finally let go of Kiku's hand, smiling brightly. "If you like, you can join us for lunch! The picnic area is really nice right now! It's really sunny!"

Kiku looked surprised, he obviously hadn't expected to be invited along so suddenly, but after a moment of consideration he smiled softly. "That would be nice, if neither of you mind."

Ludwig shook his head. "I don't mind."

"In that case, let's go!" Feliciano tugged energetically on both of their sleeves.

It was more sunny than usual that day as the trio made their way outside to the picnic benches. Ludwig looked around for an empty table, figuring it was his job because he was taller than the two others in their little group. Finally spotting one in sparse shade, he led the way to what was about to become their usual eating area.

Finally situated, Kiku pulled out a box wrapped up in a large cloth. Feliciano and Ludwig had brought their own lunches as well, and opened them also. Feliciano seemed particularly interested in Kiku's boxed lunch and gasped when Kiku opened it to show a neatly organized and tasty-looking meal.

"Wow! Hey, Mr. Honda, did you make that yourself?" Feliciano asked as he unpacked his own lunch to show quite a bit of pasta.

Kiku nodded, flushed, and smiled. "Yes."

Feliciano's eyes -and smile- widened. "It's so organized and pretty!"

Kiku's blush got worse, but he continued smiling at the compliment and lightly mumbled "_Itadekimasu"_ before he started to eat. The only reason Feliciano didn't ask what the foreign phrase meant was because he got distracted by Ludwig's lunch next to him.

"Oh, is that wurst?"

Ludwig looked down at Feliciano. "Yes..." He hesitated as he thought about asking _why_ Feliciano was asking about his lunch, but Feliciano's suddenly unreadable expression stopped him. He looked like he wanted to ask something, but held back his tongue. Thinking quickly Ludwig changed the subject. "You have pasta?"

Feliciano looked up from the wurst and nodded earnestly. "Yep! Say..." He hesitated, but went ahead anyway, "I remember I once mixed wurst and pasta by accident and it tasted really good, do you want to try that? I don't mind giving you some pasta! I have a ton!"

For some reason, just by looking at Feliciano's smile, Ludwig just couldn't say no. "Sure." He traded half of his wurst for half of Feliciano's pasta and mixed it together. Even though he didn't remember trying something like this before, he had a feeling that it would actually taste good.

Twirling some pasta around the prongs of his fork and picking up a piece of wurst, Ludwig ate the whole bite and realized that Feliciano was telling the truth. Not only was it good, there was something nostalgic about the wurst and pasta. He stared down at the mixed dish blankly until Feliciano lightly prodded his arm, asking how it was. Snapping out of his daze Ludwig smiled and praised the mixture.

***~/::/|*|\::\~***

After lunch, Ludwig—although he would not admit it—was disappointed that he didn't have a chance to see Feliciano or Kiku for the rest of the day. He half-expected Feliciano to track him down just to say goodbye, but that didn't happen. Mentally admonishing himself for getting his hopes up, Ludwig made his way down the street from the campus to an office building that was only ten minutes away. Ludwig opened the front door, walked in, and greeted the secretary, who smiled kindly and informed him that his father was in his office.

Thanking the young secretary, he headed to the elevator to reach the top floor where his father's office stood. As always, Lukas greeted his son with a look, a slight smile and a nod of his head before he returned his attention to the laptop in front of him. Ludwig didn't mind, he greeted his father the same way and settled down to sit on a couch that faced a television Lukas had allowed to be put in the office. Digging through his bag, he pulled out his Music Literature text and read over that day's assigned chapter as well as the next one.

This was a usual afternoon for the small German family, and the comfortable silence punctuated only by the clicks of Lukas' keyboard or the turning of Ludwig's book's pages persisted until it became time for them to leave for home. Ever-punctual, both father and son finished off all that they could do before the packed up their things and headed down to the ground floor parking area.

"We'll stop by at home quickly and head over to Julian's." Lukas said as he opened the driver's side door.

"Mm, All right."

When they were finally seated, and Lukas backed out of his parking spot, he mentioned in passing, "Oh...when we do get there, Julian's home is rather large, since his family has had it for generations. It may be slightly...intimidating."

***~/::/|*|\::\~***

Intimidating didn't even _cover _it. Ludwig stared up at the building, stunned to silence at the sheer size of the whole thing. A small nudge from Lukas and he continued up the front porch steps to the front door, on which the elder German was already knocking. Shaking his head slightly, the younger tugged down on the hem of his dinner jacket, straightening the creases as the door opened. As soon as he saw who had come to greet them, he felt his jaw drop.

"Fe-Feliciano?"

"Ve~ You're right on time! Come in!" Feliciano's voice had not faltered a moment, as if he had been expecting them.

Lukas gave a nod to the young Italian, as well as a small smile. "It has been a while, Feliciano."

Feliciano looked surprised for a moment before smiling broadly, but not as usual; it had a tinge of reminiscent sadness in it. "Yes, but I'm glad you've come for dinner. Papa was looking forward to this all afternoon." Lukas gave another nod and walked through the doorway. As Ludwig did the same, Feliciano looked up at him with a brighter smile. "Surprised?"

"Um, yes... very..." Ludwig began to follow Feliciano to the living room, which had an arrangement of couches in one corner with a low table in the middle and a television set on the wall furthest from the couches. "I didn't know that you lived here..."

"Yeah, but I'm sure you've heard of Julian Vargas? That's my Papa."

Ludwig nodded. "I see..." He resisted the urge to smack his forehead. _Julian _Vargas..._and I already knew he was Feliciano _Vargas._ How do I miss something like that?_

***~/::/|*|\::\~***

Just as Feliciano insisted that they sit, Julian himself came into the room with a small tray with two clear glasses of water balanced on it. For a moment, just a single, hesitant, moment, Julian's smile faltered before it split into a wide grin.

"Lukas! And Ludwig as well? Sit down, sit down! Here you go." He handed each of them a glass of water before settling himself comfortably in a chair by the sofa that the Germanic father and son had sat on. Swallowing slightly he found he couldn't take his eyes off of the Weillschmidt elder; almost nothing had changed in his features- except his hair. It was too short for Lukas; that was something Julian made a mental note to remedy. He smiled at the elder of his two guests as if he had just met with Lukas the previous day. "It's, ah... it's certainly been a while." Julian nodded a bit as he tested the ice. IT was time to make some cracks. "Ludwig has grown quite a bit. He looks just like you."

Ludwig glanced at his silent father, who -to his surprise- seemed a bit preoccupied by simply looking at Julian, and then answered the elder Italian. "Yes, many people say that." He smiled a bit. "Feliciano looks much like you as well."

"Ve~ That's good, isn't it?" Feliciano pitched in, helping the cracked ice finally break. "Hm, I hope you like the dinner, Mister Lukas! Papa and I both helped make it!"

"Ah, speaking of the dinner—" Julian perked up. "There are still a few things that need to be done. Hey Lukas, want to help me out a bit so the kids can talk?"

***~/::/|*|\::\~***

Lukas looked surprised at Julian's light-hearted tone but nodded and stood as soon as Julian did. Feliciano followed suit, only to go over to Ludwig and ask if he would like to have a tour of the house, a query to which Ludwig said yes. This left Julian to lead Lukas to the kitchen, the path to which—much to Lukas' disconcertment—he remembered quite well.

As they stepped inside, Julian let out a breath before grinning again. "You haven't changed one bit, except for one thing." He frowned and looked serious suddenly as he walked closely to Lukas from one side and lightly twirled a lock of the back of the other man's hair between his fingers. "You've cut it so short!" Almost whining now, Julian pouted. "Why? It looked lovely when longer!"

Lukas looked at Julian incredulously. _How... How can he sound so nonchalant about all this. Choosing my hair as a topic... really... He never changes..._

"Lukas?" Julian looked at him with worry. "Hey, I was just kidding... don't look at me that way..."

Blinking Lukas shook his head. "What? Oh... I apologize... I was just..." The expression on his face had become a mixture of nostalgia, hurt, and so many other emotions that he could not tell them apart anymore.

"Lost in thought." Julian laughed. Lukas saw that the dinner had been completed and had already been put on the island in the middle of the room. All the dishes were covered, and a stack of plates had been put to the side.

"Seems like everything is done here." Lukas raised an eyebrow at the set up of food.

Julian chuckled sheepishly, "Yeah, but the table isn't exactly set. You know how I always run out of time on that." Yes, Lukas could remember; practically each and every time he had come to this house to have dinner with Julian, the Italian always managed to be scatterbrained _enough_ to forget to set the table as he proudly showed off the food he hand-cooked for Lukas.

Circling around the island, Lukas nodded. "I figured. I'm not the only one who hasn't changed." He looked up from the food to Julian hesitantly. "... Julian..." he paused as he saw Julian's smile waver ever so slightly and his eyes become anxious; it was the look Julian always had when he felt he had done something wrong. "I'm sorry."

"What are you apologizing for?" Julian's light-hearted voice had gone and been replaced with a weighted tone, bogged down by the events of past years... events that both he and Lukas knew were the answer to his question.

"For the way in which I left... and for refusing to communicate after that point—"

"And I don't blame you." Julian cut in gently. "It was only to be expected." He shook his head and went around the island, past Lukas, and to the drawer to pull out the needed silverware, his back to Lukas. "I know that the... the incident eight years ago was enough to push you back to Germany, but I still stand by what I said then." For the moment his voice had dropped down to a dangerous pitch, and Lukas could imagine the rarely serious expression dominating his dearest friend's features, but as that friend turned around, he only found a smile and a lighter voice. "In any case, this may be me just taking shots in the dark, but I'm guessing you found out something about what actually happened then."

_He was always more perceptive than he would admit… _Lukas turned away to face the island and look back down at the covered dinner. "Why do you suppose that?"

"Well, you wouldn't be bringing up that time otherwise."

Lukas looked up at him and sighed, then nodded a bit. "Yes… I did find out what actually happened. And to think all this time… all these eight years I blamed your eldest for what happened to Ludwig." He gripped the edge of the island, looking down and not willing to face Julian who stood just across from him for fear of the guilt eating him alive; he swallowed slightly before continuing. "I only found out the truth some six months ago."

"From Gilbert, I presume?"

Lukas' head snapped up. "How…?"

"He's not here with you, so I couldn't help but wonder…" Julian sighed and walked around the island to stand by Lukas, his back leaning on the counter as he set the silverware down. "So what did you find out?"

"Gilbert admitted freely that he was the cause of it, all because of a fit of childish jealousy. As soon as he told me and Elisa, he just left. He left right after asking that he would be allowed to tell Ludwig the truth when he came back."

"But… why didn't he tell Ludwig right then and there? And what stopped you?" Julian's tone came out sharper than he intended.

"Gilbert told me that he felt guilty and that he didn't deserve to live under my roof. I never saw him so humble than in that moment when he placed himself in exile."

Julian cracked a little smile. "Yet he didn't lose any of his melodrama."

Lukas tried not to smile, but welcomed the slight lightening of mood, letting out a puff of breath —the closest thing to a laugh for the moment. "Yes. I understood his past actions, and I could feel his guilt, so I kept my word that the truth would be told when he returns." His expression turned severe, and he could already feel his voice quiver unexpectedly. "However, Elisa didn't take his leaving too well. She was already sick when he admitted it and the shock of his departure only made it worse… until two months ago when she finally passed. Everything seemed to fall apart right then… before Ludwig convinced me to come back here… for my sake."

Swallowing hard, Julian hesitantly took a few steps forward and took the German by surprise by gently wrapping him in a hug. Lukas froze for a moment, tensing up before relaxing and putting his forehead on Julian's shoulder, just taking in the comfort— comfort he had missed for much too long. "I'm sorry." His voice was now barely over a whisper. Julian shushed him but he continued, letting out everything he felt he needed to apologize for, "I'm sorry for running away from the problems my family caused for you… for us. And for cutting all ties and… and this wasn't fair to you, because you actually wanted to try to fight the problems while I just avoided them. I really am the worst—"

Julian, who had enough of the Lukas-style breakdown, pulled back and essentially covered Lukas's mouth to silence him. The situation would have been a lot less awkward if he didn't reflexively cover it with his own lips. Trying to appear unabashed as he stepped back and cleared his throat—more out of trying not to laugh at the glorious and rather refreshing—blush on his old friend's face, looking away. "You were talking too much; it's not like you." When Lukas didn't answer and just continued to stare at him… or straight through him (he wasn't exactly sure), Julian just went on, "Besides… what's done is done. The only thing we can do is work with what we have. You know, we could learn a thing or two from Feli and Ludwig. Maybe it's time to start over?" He put a hand on Lukas's shoulder.

At the question, Lukas blinked and snapped out of his daze. "Start over? Yes… perhaps that is the best way now."

"Well then, we'll worry about the incident when Gilbert returns. Until then, let's just move forward." Julian grinned broadly at what he _knew_ was the over-simplified final decision. "Now can you help me put all this stuff on the dining table? Then we can go off to see what the kids are doing." He scooped up the silverware and headed to the adjacent room.

Sighing, Lukas shook his head as he ran one hand through his cut hair in an old habit of calming himself down after the impromptu kiss before picking up one of the large platters and carrying it to the dining table.

***~/::/|*|\::\~***

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Author's Note: OvO This chapter was longer than the last one, so I hope you liked it~ Just a single review is enough to keep me writing! As long as I know that at least one person enjoys reading this fic I'll keep writing for him/her. ^_^

**In the next chapter, Ludwig gets a grand tour that ends up in a room that looks more like a musical museum than a place of practice, Feliciano sings a song that evokes forgotten nostalgia, and the seeds of a dream that passed from father to sons are spread.**


	5. IV: Links to the Past

**A/N: Finally~ I've got the next chapter up for this story. ^^ Many, many thanks to everyone who has been reading and I thank you for your patience. Please know that without your support, this fic would have been abandoned a while ago~ But I mean to see it to the end, as I've got the major framework already planned out.**

**At the end of this chapter, I've got a little poll, or rather a question for you all. It'll make more sense after the end of this chapter, but your opinions on this will definitely affect the structure of future chapters. So if you have the time, please the let me know your thoughts on that. Thank You**

**Disclaimer: Hetalia does not belong to me, nor does the song "Who Knew" by Pink. As such within the story, technically this song doesn't belong to Feli…but it is fiction therefore it belongs to him within the parameters of this story.**

**Warnings: Light Yaoi/Shounen-ai,**

* * *

*~::||*||::~*Around the World*~::||*||::~*

Part I: Italia and Germania

Chapter IV: Links to the Past  
*~::||*||::~*

Feliciano led Ludwig out of the sitting room and down a hallway in a tour through the maze-like mansion. However, with Ludwig being Ludwig, the German had pulled out his journal and begun to take notes so not to forget where everything was. He felt that perhaps this information would come in handy as he might come over here again. Feliciano smiled, but didn't say anything about Ludwig's note-taking, and animatedly led him to a number of rooms. A Ballroom, Julian's study—where a desk was put to the side for Feliciano's study—a game room—which held a billiard's table among a mountain of board games—and a quick peek into the maid's quarters were a few of the things Feliciano showed Ludwig.

In the maid's quarters, Gaea had caught sight of the two of them as she sat embroidering a handkerchief. Warmly she greeted the two, "Oh...so Lukas and little Ludwig have arrived?"

"Mhmm." Feliciano happily nodded as Ludwig approached the head maid to shake her hand. She pulled him into a hug instead.

"It is very good to see you." She smiled cordially, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes showing that her smile was something seen very often. Despite her age, she appeared not much older than Julian or Lukas, who were both in their mid-forties.

"Pleased to meet you too miss...?" Ludwig awkwardly hugged back before stepping away.

"Call me Gaea." She then looked at Feliciano, who gave her a habitual hug and a kiss on either cheek. "It seems you're showing him around Feli?" The younger nodded. "Mn, good. Well carry on and enjoy dinner. I've got a few more things to finish before the day's done." Shooing them out of the room merrily she sat back down with her needlework once they were out of sight, shaking her head slightly. _Hmm, Ludwig has grown so much. Though it hurt a bit when he didn't recognize me...I can only imagine how dear Feli must feel..._

*~::||*||::~*

From Gaea's quarters, Feliciano then led up the stairs, purposely not going through a particular doorway, saying he was saving that for last since he figured Ludwig would like that room the best.

"This...is my room." Feliciano proudly opened the door for Ludwig and followed him into his room, which was surprisingly neat if for a few clothes on a nearby chair as well as scattered papers and sketchbooks littering the top of his desk, a closed laptop placed on the made bed. "I'm sorry for the mess." Feliciano sheepishly smiled as he turned on the lights.

Ludwig looked around at the tastefully decorated room. Being in here felt very comfortable and that comfort put him on edge. "It's alright. It's a very nice room." He smiled a bit as he looked around and came to his desk. "Ah...that's right. You draw as well don't you?"

Feliciano came to stand by him as he peered over the sketches. "Mhmm." Grinning he picked up a sketchbook that looked familiar to Ludwig; it was the one that had a sketch of him in it. "Would you like to see a few more sketches?"

"Sure, why not?" Ludwig felt Feliciano lightly take his arm and lead him to sit on the side of the bed. As Feliciano sat next to him and gave him the sketchbook, he tried not to think of the proximity between them as he flipped open the art book. Blinking, he could feel a smile spread on his lips as he went from page to page of beautifully sketched drawings, Feliciano providing a bit of commentary about a few pieces until he came to the sketch of his profile. "..." Even from first glance, he could tell that Feliciano had worked on this piece longer than the rest.

As Ludwig became preoccupied with staring at his paper doppelganger, Feliciano took the chance to look at Ludwig from this proximity. A heavy feeling welled up in him as he could practically feel the invisible wall between himself and the German thanks to those lost pieces of Ludwig's memory. He would have to be satisfied with just this kind of closeness until, somehow, he could help Ludwig's memory come back to him.

"..iano—Feliciano." Ludwig stared at Feliciano, who happened to be gazing at him intently. Blinking, he hesitantly shook the Italian's shoulder, causing him to sit back suddenly, wide eyes opening and closing rapidly.

"Eh? Hmn? Yes, what is it?" Feliciano didn't seem aware of the fact that he had spent a good bit of time looking at Ludwig's eyes, examining the details so he could draw them later.

Ludwig raised and eye brow but held up the sketch. "...Is it possible for me to have a copy of this sketch?" He flushed slightly at the request, hoping it didn't look too narcissistic.

It certainly didn't seem that way to Feliciano, who lit up at the request. "Of course!" He took the sketchbook from Ludwig's hands and headed to a side table on the other side of the room that held a scanner and printer combined. Pressing a few buttons, Feliciano put the picture on the flatbed scanner and a moment later, came back with a printed copy. "I'll put it in a plastic cover and put it here so you can take it when you leave. Sound good?"

Seeing Feliciano put the covered copy on his desk, Ludwig smiled. "Feliciano." He noticed a slight flush cross Feliciano's face at the mention of his name, but brushed it aside. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Feliciano's smile came back and he headed towards the door. "Shall we continue our tour then?"

"hmn? Oh of course." Ludwig stood and followed Feliciano to the room next door, where the Italian hesitated slightly at the door.

His hand on the door, he looked up at Ludwig. "This is Lovi...ah Lovino, my elder brother's room...he's studying in Spain so I don't often come in here..."

"...If you don't want to go in there. It's okay." Ludwig couldn't help but feel a little worry for the lonely face that Feliciano showed to him in that moment. "It's probably empty isn't it?"

Feliciano blinked then smiled to match Ludwig's reassuring expression. "You're right...well in that case we'll just pass by the guest rooms and Papa's before heading back downstairs."

As he led him down the passage, Ludwig happened to look inside an empty guest room because its door was halfway open. A chill went through him as he stared into it, stopping suddenly. It took Feliciano a moment, but he stopped when he realized Ludwig wasn't following him. Turning around, he looked warily at Ludwig, who had stopped right by the guest room he normally slept in whenever he had slept over in the manor many years ago. "Is something wrong Ludwig?" Feliciano walked back up to him and put a hand on his upper arm when Ludwig didn't answer.

"What?" Ludwig suddenly snapped his gaze down to Feliciano.

"I asked if you were alright...you just froze up." Feliciano's grip on Ludwig's sleeve tightened slightly as he pulled him down the hall and towards the stairs.

Ludwig allowed himself to be taken away from that room. _...Why...do I feel like I know that room..._ His head had begun to hurt, a dull pain overtaking him. He hadn't experienced a headache like this for a long time. "I'm alright...it's just ." Ludwig pulled back, stopping Feliciano where he stood at the top of the stairs. "Feliciano. Have I been here before. To your home? Some eight years ago perhaps?" When Feliciano's eyes widened and he stepped back, Ludwig got his answer and he took Feliciano's shoulders firmly, "Answer me Feliciano."

His bottom lip quivering slightly, Feliciano shook his head. "I-I..." Lowering his gaze he let his head drop down slightly as he nodded. "Yes...you have." Still not looking up he crossed his arms, looking as if he was holding himself.

_Why...won't anyone tell me?_ Ludwig became frustrated and tightened his grip, not aware of his strength causing Feliciano to flinch, but his headache had begun to throb from his trying to remember his visits here to no avail.

"...ahn...L-Ludwig...it hurts..." He had tried to take a step back, but found himself stuck in Ludwig's grip. He looked up at him with tears building up from the pain. "L-Ludwig!"

Something in Ludwig's eyes had changed. He blinked down at Feliciano's wide eyes and quickly released him. "I'm sorry..." He brought up one hand to rub his temple. "It's just..." The headache had suddenly become acute and when he blinked, parts of his vision were starting to look black. "..urgh..." Stepping back, he felt his knees buckle.

"Ludwig!" Feliciano rushed forward to pull on both of Ludwig's arms in an attempt to soften his fall. Though he did soften the fall as Ludwig came to a sitting position on the ground, Feliciano was also forced to bend his knees till he was sitting on them in front of the German, still holding onto Ludwig's wrists. "Are you alright? Should I get some water or something." His voice became increasingly panicked. "Say something, please! Ludwig..."

At that point, Ludwig had closed his eyes tightly and blinked furiously to get rid of the black spots in his vision, with only little success. Struggling to keep conscious as he was, the headache escalated to an unbearable point until something seemed to click in his mind. _This place...I remember..._ Images floated into his mind. Someone had tightly taken his hand and was pulling him up the stairs...the two of them had stopped at this very point in the mansion...

*~::||*||::~*

"_Ludwig. Ludwig." And excited and high pitched voice called to him. He could only see the back of this child's head. "Come this way~"_

"_ah..okay. Slow down!"His voice sounded so much younger. How long ago was this?_

"_Geez...what are you two doing?" Another boy had come down the hallway from his room. A long curl, much like Feliciano's bouncing as he walked towards them. Clearly appearing a few years older than both of them, he frowned at the two of them. "You better not be causing trouble."_

"_Lovi!" The shorter brunette whined, his own strange curl, one that Ludwig finally noticed, also bouncing as he faced the one called Lovi. "We're only playing...besides. Ludwig is sleeping over today."_

_Despite the excited voice of the younger, Lovi just frowned and ploughed past both Ludwig and the boy, right through their held hands. As he passed by Lovi sent down a chilling glare at Ludwig. "Don't hold Feli's hand so casually...stupid potato. Hmph."_

"_Ludwig." A worried voice caused him to look away from Lovi to the other boy...Feli...Feliciano? "Please don't mind...big brother's always like that...you know that."_

_Ludwig blinked as Feli took both of his hands this time. Hazy though this memory was, it was almost as if he could feel the soft grip. "..."_

"_Besides..." Feli blushed lightly. He looked no more than eight years old. "I like holding Ludwig's hands. Lovi can't stop me from doing that." His smile was infectious...this little Feli..._

_Ludwig could feel himself laugh along with Feli and squeeze his hands back. "Me too Feli." Somehow, it wasn't as embarrassing to blush, since he could see Feli's own face turn a delicate red. The seeds of a warm feeling had spread in his chest and got all the more warmer as he looked at Feliciano. _

*~::||*||::~*

Blinking, Ludwig looked down as his vision cleared, the new ...or rather old memory renewed in his mind. For the first time in his life...the memory had stayed. Many times in the past, mostly when he lived in Germany, he had spent hours on end trying to concentrate on the past...only to black out due to this headache and waking up with no memory of the time he was knocked out, often with his mother, father or even Gilbert worriedly looking over him.

"...Ludwig?" A tentative voice called out to him just as he felt his hands lightly squeezed in the grip of a set of another's.

_So soft...just like... _His gaze fell on the pair of hands that held his own, both sets of which rested on the other's knees where he sat in front of Ludwig, who was more sprawled out where he sat, his knees slightly bent—one more than the other—on either side of the speaker. Trailing his eyes up from the hands to the arms and then the speaker's face, Ludwig let slip. "Feli?"

*~::||*||::~*

Feliciano held onto Ludwig's hands as the German fell silently into his thoughts. The moment his wide, blank eyes began to have a little more light in them...the moment they began to blink and he shifted around, Feliciano had tentatively called out, tightening his grip. He couldn't help but hold his breath as Ludwig slowly looked up and finally spoke.

A light gasp left Feliciano's lips, his eyes widening with surprise at the familiar nickname. "What?"

_I haven't heard him call me that since..._ Tears were threatening his eyes but he blinked and kept them at bay as a sudden, tickling warmth began to touch his cheeks.

The warm feeling in Ludwig's chest that rose up from the memory overcame him. Without answering he leaned forward, slightly shorter than Feliciano due to the fact that the Italian was sitting on his knees.

Instinctively, Feliciano had leaned back slightly, but not so much. "...Ludwig. Are you okay?" He felt one of Ludwig's hands loosen itself from his own and silently come up to touch the side of his face.

Sharp blue eyes gazed up at Feliciano's, almost as if examining them as the German came closer. Feliciano had begun to hold his breath again. Despite the blush that graced Ludwig's face as well, he continued observing Feliciano from this proximity, enveloped completely in the feeling that stemmed from the memory, the dear and only memory of his life before age ten. Lightly his finger tips went from touching the side of Feliciano's face to slipping further around his head and combing into his hair. The hand was on the right side, where it brushed against the hair curl for just a moment, yet that moment was enough for Feliciano to jump slightly, his hand tightening once more around Ludwig's left. Curiously he looked from Feliciano's deepened blush to the mysterious curl, but he figured he would find out what it was as well as what it did later. Instead he returned his gaze to the brown eyes, his fingers now enveloped in the soft hair. "I remember..."

Feliciano blinked as he realized that Ludwig had gotten so close that he could feel his light breath on his skin. Swallowing and forcing himself to take a breath, he wondered for a moment what Ludwig had remembered, because there was a new look in his eyes, one that made Feliciano both hopeful...and nervous. His heartbeat had begun to pound in his chest to the point where he could feel its every beat. "...R-Rememb-?"

Ludwig must not have heard his now diminutive voice as he closed the distance between them. Though Feliciano's eyes widened at this action, Ludwig's had closed peacefully, his mind single-pointedly focused on the feeling of Feliciano's lips. From the feeling in that memory, he did not know if this was the first time...but he would certainly remember this.

One. Two. Feliciano counted the tears that fell as he closed his eyes, enveloping himself into the moment, pressing back against Ludwig's soft kiss. What had he remembered? What caused him to suddenly do this? Question after question whirled past Feliciano's mind, pushed aside by this intimacy. Letting go of Ludwig's left hand, Feliciano brought up his hands, guiding them above Ludwig's shoulders and lacing them together behind his head.

Both succumbing to this moment, neither wished to pull away, but as they did, Feliciano retracted his hands, lightly putting one hand's fingers on his lips, which were parted slightly in surprise and to retrieve fresh air for his lungs. Before pulling away his own hand Ludwig silently wiped away the remnants of those two tears. A few moments of awkward silence passed as Ludwig kept a steady gaze on Feliciano, who—albeit with many blinks—did the same.

"Feli—"

"Lud—"

"Ah.." Both of them stopped at once, suddenly smiling sheepishly. Without warning, Feliciano began to chuckled and Ludwig joined in until their laughter had cracked through the awkward air. As Ludwig sighed, his shoulders relaxing, Feliciano spoke up. "What did you suddenly remember?"

Gently Ludwig took Feliciano's hands in his. "You once told me: "I like holding Ludwig's hands. Lovi can't stop me from doing that." He looked up from Feliciano's hands and smiled. "I only remember that moment...It must have been a long time ago..."

Feliciano listened quietly and smiled as he remembered saying that to Ludwig, but after a moment he blinked and tilted his head. "...you only remembered that?"

Ludwig nodded. "Yes." Then at Feliciano's worried look he shook his head and smiled. "For right now I'm happy just remembering this. I won't ask about the past right now...because I might have another fainting spell. Right now I want to keep this memory."

"You've fainted before?" Feliciano only looked more anxious at this fact.

"Yes, but it's alright now. Because, well, because now I know I've met you before and a lot of things make sense now..." Ludwig swallowed as he realized something. "I only wanted to ask one thing. You recognized me all along didn't you?"

Sadly Feliciano lowered his gaze and nodded. "But I was happy just to see you again."

"Were we close?" Ludwig pressed, unable to help himself, but he wanted an answer for this warm feeling in his chest, both in that memory and this moment. He couldn't help but feel Feliciano was someone much more dear than he indicated.

Smiling Feliciano looked back up. "Yes. You were...are my best friend." Although there was still a tinge of sadness in his smile, Feliciano began to stand up, pulling on Ludwig's hands. "Well then...do you want to continue the tour?"

Ludwig allowed Feliciano to pull up as he brought himself to stand, squeezing Feliciano's hands before letting go and hugging him, partly in apology, but mostly because this warm feeling compelled him to. "I'm sorry...for forcing myself on you..." His blush returned full-force as he remembered less of the kiss and more of how he enjoyed it.

Feliciano's chuckling did little to allay that as the brunette hugged him back. "It's alright, but if you call me Feli from now on, I won't hold you against it."

"hmn.." Ludwig couldn't help but chuckle; Feliciano was more crafty than he appeared. "Alright. Feli it is then."

"Now." Feliciano pulled away and grinned. "I want to show you the best room in this house."

*~::||*||::~*

Animatedly Feliciano led Ludwig all the way to what he called the "rehearsal room". Dramatically he stopped and faced Ludwig in front of two double doors near the front side of the first floor. "I am about to reveal to you the one and only Rehearsal room. The pride and joy of my family."

Ludwig smiled with some amusement at Feliciano's announcement. "I can't wait." Certainly he couldn't, but the incredulity that he felt when he saw the Vargas mansion was absolutely nothing to what he felt when Feliciano opened the double doors.

The room was less of a place of practice than of a museum; it even had a recording studio attached through a side door, as Ludwig would later find out. Organized around the entire room was a vast assortment of instruments: a grand piano, two electric keyboards, guitars and basses of all shapes, violins, a cello, and Indian sitar, a Chinese Mandolin, as well as many other instruments from around the world, too many for Ludwig to count easily. That and the overwhelming collection was a bit much to take in at the moment.

"Papa collected quite a bit when he was younger, and he hasn't stopped really." Feliciano explained somewhat proudly.

"Does he play all of these?"

"He won't admit it, but papa knows at least the basics of playing pretty much all of them, except maybe the newer ones."

"And you?"

Feliciano laughed, "Well not all of them, but some." He admitted modestly, pointing to a few as he led Ludwig inside, going in a big circle around the room. "My favourites are the flute and guitar."

Ludwig nodded as he surveyed the room in a wide arc, walking alongside Feliciano. His eye eventually fell on a gleaming drum set that was set in a corner across the room from the grand piano. As he started to drift towards the percussion instrument, Feliciano followed before going up and grabbing a set of drumsticks. "Do you want to play?" he held out the drumsticks.

"Is it really alright?" Ludwig reached out for the sticks, but not before pausing to wonder how Feliciano knew that he played the drums, he had never told the shorter Italian that he did so. He opened his mouth to ask, but remembered how he promised both himself and Feliciano that he wouldn't keep asking questions. For all he knew, the answer was some event that took place eight some years ago. Closing his mouth, he silently took the drumsticks with a small smile.

"Of course it's alright. Instruments are meant to be used not just to sit there and look pretty. They are meant to be tools to creates something more beautiful." While Ludwig too a seat behind the drum set and started to play a few beats, Feliciano took one of the acoustic guitars from the stand. He looked over at Ludwig who had paused for a moment. Smiling he tuned up the guitar. "Say, could we try something?"

"Sure."

Feliciano's smile grew wider as he quickly went to a nearby shelf filled with what Ludwig presumed was just lots of sheet music. Retrieving a few papers, Feliciano set them on the music stand in front of the drums where Ludwig could see it. "This is a song my brother and I wrote a while ago, and I finally figured out how to perform it…I'd like to try it out." He flushed slightly as he quickly set up one speaker with a mic and its stand so they could hear his voice over the drums. As Feliciano did that Ludwig took a look at the music and smiled. It didn't seem all that hard.

"Ready?" Ludwig nodded at Feliciano's question, very much interested in how well Feliciano could sing.

After a moment or so, Feliciano was ready and he tapped out the initial beat, saying he would strum out the first two measures before Ludwig would come in, and that he would start singing when he felt they were together. As they started, they came to be on the same beat surprisingly quickly the guitar and drums locked in together properly. Their eyes met and Feliciano took a deep breath, looking away.

"_You took my hand. You showed me how. You promised me, you'd be around. Uh huh, that's right." _Ludwig picked up a strange nostalgia from Feliciano's voice as it started off softly, somewhat shyly, but soon gained strength as he took another breath.

"_I took your words and I believed in everything you said to me. Yeah huh, that's right." _Feliciano's hands continued to strum the guitar, but his eyes increasingly held a rather distant look. Somewhere between that verse and the chorus, Ludwig got mesmerized by that distant look and the sudden increase in volume of both the other's voice and guitar. His hands slowed until the drums became silent; Feliciano didn't notice.

" _If someone said three years from now, you'd be long gone. I'd stand up and punch them out; cause they're all wrong." _ A strange smile came to Feliciano's face as he sung the last line, almost as if he was the one in the wrong, not "they."

"_I know…better, 'cause you said forever…and ever." _Feliciano shook his head wistfully, and Ludwig saw him swallow before singing the last two words of the chorus. "_Who knew_?"

The guitar returned to a softer strum as Feliciano moved onto the next verse. Ludwig felt himself lean forward ever so slightly when the singer closed his eyes and took another breathe. He would never have expected Feliciano to put so much of himself into the singing; it was almost as if he had lost himself in it.

"_Remember when we were such fools, and so convinced and just too cool? Oh no, no, no."_ A shakier breath punctured through, but Feliciano refused to let himself stop. "_I wish I could touch you again. I wish I could still call you a friend."_ Somehow, as silly as it sounded to Ludwig, he felt as if Feliciano was trying to communicate something of vital importance, at least, the other looked that way like a man desperate to convey emotions so inexplicable that they can only be alluded to; perhaps it had something to do with how he responded to Ludwig's question of "Were we close?". Ludwig's thoughts paused as he heard Feliciano continue. "_I'd give anything." _

If anything he sounded like he truly would, and as he went on, Ludwig sorely wished he did not hear the helplessness in the Italian's voice. "_When someone said count your blessings now, 'fore they're long gone. I guess I just didn't know how. I was all wrong." _He showed no signs of stopping at this point, his mind must have flown back to whatever those distance eyes saw, maybe the past, some distant memory best left untouched...and a distant memory Ludwig wished Feliciano would tell him.

"_But they knew better." _Feliciano blinked when his eyes suddenly began to cloud, becoming shinier from Ludwig's viewpoint. His voice had even begun to have the slightest tremor, but he fought it down; the song had to finish. "_Still you said forever and ever…Who knew?"_

As he continued to strum, Feliciano gave his head a small shake and looked over at Ludwig. He looked surprised at first then pulled off a rather bright smile that caused Ludwig to feel a tad disconcerted; the smile was too fake for comfort, but it stayed there, even as Feliciano looked away. Somehow, this song seemed to mean something more and more to Ludwig...as if it truly were about something more. "_I'll keep you locked in my head until we meet again."_ The voice softened, and it was all too obvious to Ludwig that Feliciano appeared to be remembering someone apparently important; (he couldn't help but hope that _he_ was the important person.) why else would so much emotion pour into his words? "_Until we…Until we meet again. And I won't forget you, my friend…What happened?"_

The moment he sung the question, the smallest of frowns tugged on the singer's lips, but it quickly turned the other way when uplifted eyes brought a more determined expression, the voice somehow regaining vigour. "_If someone said three years from now, you'd be long gone. I'd stand up and punch them out! 'Cause they're all wrong and-!"_ His voice had easily reached an almost yelling level, but as clear and beautiful as it was, emotion-laden as it was, Ludwig got pulled in, irreversibly. There was no doubt that Ludwig would admit that Feliciano easily met the requirements for a talented vocalist as the next lines Ludwig would remember to be the most emotional of the entire song.

"_That last kiss, I'll cherish until we meet again, and time makes it harder…I wish I could remember!"_ So desperate those words sounded, a wish Ludwig had wished too many times to count, and to hear them from Feliciano now…He couldn't help but feel his throat tighten.

"_But I keep your memory. You visit me in my sleep. My darling, who knew?" _Suddenly a thought came to Ludwig, as ludicrous as it was to him, it couldn't help but make sense, at least to this gut feeling. It didn't feel like Feliciano himself was singing those last few lines; it was someone else; he was conveying someone else's emotion, one who couldn't do so, not yet. Even as the strumming quietened again, and the voice followed suit, Feliciano's pride as a singer did not let his voice quiver, despite his now furious blinking to fight away his blurring sight and his tightened throat. "_My darling…My darling, who knew? My darling, I miss you. My darling, who knew?...Who knew?"_

A single, final, chord rung out and lingered in the air even after the voice died away. So perfect the ending seemed to Ludwig, he found it hard to decide whether or not to mar the sudden silence with applause, so he stood up silently instead, setting the drumsticks down as he went. He crept around the drum set warily, looking down at it, so as to not trip over something in haste. He only looked up when he heard Feliciano make a small noise, something that sounded too much like a sniffle for Ludwig's comfort.

"Fe-Feli?" Ludwig approached him cautiously, waiting for him to turn. When he did so, Ludwig suffered a mild shock when he saw silent tears trekking down Feliciano's widened eyes. "Ah…Oi, are you…okay?" Well before he could comprehend what he was doing, Ludwig found himself standing in front of Feliciano at a compromising distance, wiping away the unsightly tears.  
"Don't cry like that…it doesn't suit you at all." He said without thinking; the words just rolled off his tongue effortlessly and for the life of him he couldn't figure out why.

Feliciano blinked, surprised at first but now rather red. Before Ludwig could also blink a few times before coming to his senses, stepping away, and opening his mouth to come up with a potentially intelligent, and hopefully cohesive, response, the clear and tell-tale voice of Julian Vargas ran right across the room and bulleted through both of the boys, who became petrified where they stood.

"Alright then lovebirds—Dinner's ready!"

In record time the two of them backed away until they were a good five feet from one another; interestingly enough—to the two fathers anyway—it was hard to discern who's face was more red. Feliciano was the first to at least partially recover and put away his instrument before rushing over to Julian. "Papa! We're not-!"

Julian just laughed. "Just kidding! Just kidding! But seriously, dinner's ready."

Somehow Ludwig found it in himself to head towards the door and upon seeing his father's small smile he couldn't help but trail behind the avidly talking Italians and ask Lukas, "_Vater_, how long have you and _Herr_ Vargas been standing here?"

Lukas slowed his walk to be by Ludwig. "For the entire song." At this comment, Ludwig severely wished he hadn't inheirited his father's ability to blush an embarrassingly deep red.

*~::||*||::~*

Dinner was, in a single word, pleasant...for Feliciano anyway. Although he noticed that the two fathers carefully avoided any talk of affairs before the last nine years he was satisfied enough just sitting by Ludwig. Somehow as dinner went on, their conversation turned to Feliciano's impromptu performance in the rehearsal room. Julian, with a bit of difficulty, swallowed his smile and asked if Ludwig enjoyed playing the drum.

"Yes, very much so." Ludwig nodded, fighting down the blush at the mention of the earlier events.

Juian grinned broadly. "Well then you're welcome to come any play if you like, anytime at all. Our doors are open to you." He paused slightly as he looked over at Lukas, who was in the middle of taking a bite of his dinner and comically enough, froze slightly with his mouth ajar. "—and you of course."

Carefully the elder German avoided Julian's eyes and nodded, taking the bite. "Mhn."

Appearing satisfied with that Julian turned his attention towards Ludwig again. "You know, from the little I heard you play, you're very good—_Sehr Gut!_"

Ludwig flushed slightly at the compliment in his native tongue. "_Danke._"

Julian then indulged in a bit of musing. "Wouldn't it be good if we could start a band with you and Feli?" His grin widened as he practically felt Lukas freeze next to him. "It may have only heard a tad, but it's amazing that the two of you could play together properly so easily and quickly." Out of the corner of his eye he glanced at Lukas, who had sent him a warning glance and was about to open his mouth to voice his disapproval when Feliciano beat him to it.

"Ve! I think that's a great idea! I…" He hesitated for a split second as he looked up at Ludwig. "I always wanted to be in a band like Papa was…um…What do you think Ludwig?"

Ludwig busied himself in chewing his dinner as he avoided the overly hopeful eyes; he felt that if he looked into those, he'd have a hard time saying no. "Erm…perhaps. I'll have to think about it." He hoped that this response was evasive enough. Truthfully he was very interested in this; it would give him an excuse to come back to this home...where memories upon memories were probably stored.

Dinner ended up rather uneventful after that, but Feliciano was satisfied; when Ludwig said he would do something, the Italian could rest assured that he would.

*~::||*||::~*

After a brief goodbye, or rather a long goodbye cut short by Lukas smartly manoeuvring around Julian's attempt to get them to sleep over, Lukas led the way to their car. Without looking at his son, Lukas started up the car and buckled up. He only began to speak when Ludwig followed suit and he began to drive. "Are you seriously thinking about making a band?" As much as Lukas tried to sound neutral, he was sure that some disapproval crept into his voice unintentionally. He was more apprehensive about this idea, for many reasons, one of which stemmed from the fact that he knew Julian too well, much too well. That idealistic Italian would likely create a record company from scratch and drag Lukas into it; the worst part happened to be that he would go along with whatever hair-brained scheme Julian would somehow come up with.

"I'm not sure, but for some reason, I found it fun to play the drums with him. And that singing…" Ludwig tilted his head back on the seat, closing his eyes. "…It pulled me in. I don't know how or why, but it just felt that way. That and..." Ludwig hesitated, wondering if it would be a good idea to tell his father.

"..and?"

"I remembered something." Ludwig admitted, looking down at the scan copy that Feliciano had given him before they had said good bye.

Stopping at the end of the driveway, Lukas looked at Ludwig with wide eyes. "...you.."

"...remembered something? Yes." Ludwig swallowed. "It was a very, very small moment...but I remembered Feli," He blushed as he remembered that moment. "I want to know more...but I don't want that headache to come back...so I won't ask, but when I'm ready _Vater_, will you tell me what I want to know?"

"I will tell you all I can...after that, you must wait for Gilbert."

"...eh?" Ludwig didn't expect an answer as his father's tone seemed final.

Indeed, Lukas didn't respond and the rest of the drive home was spent in silence; both took advantage of this and delved into their own thoughts. More than anything else, Lukas hoped things would turn out for the best, one way or another.

* * *

A/N: Alright now that the chapter is over, here is the question that I mentioned at the beginning of the page:

Would you all prefer to have the song presented as it was in this chapter, with the lyrics and actions put together? Or in future chapters that have significant songs, would you rather not have the entire lyrics and just have me hit the key notes?

Also, it's likely that I'll ask for certain song suggestions, particularly those in different languages as the story goes on and I need to find songs that help fit the situation the characters are in, so please look forward to that~

**In the next chapter after agreeing to practice some music with Feliciano, Ludwig finds himself agreeing to one performance; of course, he is not the only one Julian manages to convince into joining this small wave into creating a band. **


End file.
